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Treatment fidelity is the degree of overlap between an original, intended treatment protocol and the applied implementation of that treatment. Researchers measure core components of an implemented treatment to detect variation from the originally developed treatment model. Variations from a treatment’s key components are believed to negatively affect reliability and validity of treatment outcomes in both research and clinical settings over time. For example, if a treatment is unsuccessful, inadequate treatment fidelity will make it difficult to determine whether treatment failure was due to the ineffective treatment or incorrect administration. However, if a treatment is successful, it will be difficult to determine whether such success is due to effective treatment or whether unknown, additional components influenced participant outcomes.